Commodities such as natural gas, water and electricity are routinely delivered to commercial and industrial establishments and residences by piping networks or electrical lines (as the case may be) operated by utility companies and municipalities. For billing purposes, such commodities are "metered" at the point of consumption. That is, the network line or "lateral" extending to the establishment or the residence includes a meter indicating how much of the commodity has been consumed in a period of time and the commodity customer is billed accordingly.
It has been estimated that there are about 600 million utility meters installed worldwide. It has also been estimated that there are about 270 million utility meters in the United States and that about 150-160 million of those meters are used for gas and water. Only a very small percentage of utility meters are configured to be read remotely.
In fact, most such meters are read visually by a person walking on site to actually view and manually record the information displayed on the meter dial. There are a number of disadvantages to this form of meter reading. One is that it is enormously labor-intensive. The overhead costs to a utility or municipality for "walk-by" meter reading are very substantial.
Another disadvantage of such form of meter reading is that the person reading meters is subjected to various forms of hazard, e.g., deep snow, barking (and perhaps biting) dogs and the like. And it is not unheard of that a consumer intentionally keeps a ferocious dog in the hope of preventing the meter from being read.
Still another disadvantage is that property owners, especially residential owners, prefer that mater readers not walk on the property. Sometimes, there is a risk that however careful, the meter reader will trample flowers or ornamental shrubs.
In recognition of the disadvantages of walk-by meter reading, meters have been developed which can be read remotely. Such meters are configured as transponders and include a radio transmitter. When the meter is "interrogated" by a radio signal from a remote location, the meter responds by transmitting a signal encoded with the meter reading.
But such meters also have a disadvantage. They are battery-powered and when the battery charge is depleted, such batteries must be replaced. Of course, replacement is very time-consuming and significantly negates the otherwise-very-attractive advantages of remote meter reading.
Yet another disadvantage of known battery-powered meters is that they continue to use "analog" readout devices such as mechanically-driven rotating dials. The non-rechargeable batteries are used only for the transmitting function.
Still another disadvantage of some known battery-powered meters is that the transmitting equipment is in a housing separate from that containing the meter per se. An electrical cable or wiring extends between the housings and its very existence and exposure to view makes such meter subject to tampering by, e.g., cutting the cable.
(As used herein, the term "non-rechargeable" means a battery which cannot be re-charged except by removing it from the meter and replacing it with another battery. That is, a non-rechargeable battery cannot be recharged by a source of electricity integral to the meter itself.)
Another disadvantage of transponding-type meters in certain geographical areas is that the meter is mounted below-ground in a pit. The pit sometimes fills with water, immersing the meter. And the need for an electrical lead passing through the meter housing makes it much more difficult to seal such housing against the entry of water.
A new meter which addresses and resolves disadvantages of the prior art and, in particular, which eliminates the need for "hard wiring" between the meter and transmitter would be a major improvement in the art. Similarly, a new meter which extends battery life would be an important technological advance.